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The final vote on what to do with the site in the Lower Ninth Ward did not go before the City Council as expected. It is another snag in the process toward progress in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Sarah DeBacher, President of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, received an email from a staffer in Councilman James Gray's office late Wednesday night alerting her that the vote has been rescheduled to April 24th.

"His chief of staff's email to me said that it was because we had requested deferment, but we certainly did not request it the night before the meeting. We spent last night reaching out to residents who had taken off work, as I have," she said.

Twice already meetings about how to redevelop the former Holy Cross School site have ended with no decision. In February, the City Planning Commission could not reach a legal majority. Then in March, the same thing happened at the Historic District Landmarks Commission.

There has been heated public comments between residents on both sides of the debate. The controversy stems from a developers plans to bring a mixed-use residential and commercial project. The structure reaches as high as 75 feet or seven floors in some areas. The plan is scaled back from initial plans for 13 floors.

However the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association said it is in direct defiance of a 40 foot maximum for the historic neighborhood. Several neighborhood groups have said a structure so dense and different is a slap in a face to the historic nature of Holy Cross.

Many opponents say they want development; however, they think these plans are extreme and want to make sure their concerns are heard. Supporters say it would be a vital economic development to an area still weak after Hurricane Katrina.

Residents who stood outside City Hall Thursday are hopeful the delayed vote means developers are willing to come to a compromise.

"It suggests that perhaps Councilman Gray doesn't have the support for the development that he needs, and that's our hope, but it also suggests to us that we need to continue to do everything that we can at the grass roots level to be involved in the process," DeBacher said.